Avatar The Rise Of Haman
by Mike Magin
Summary: Avatar Aang has saved the world and now, 70 years later, a new avatar is protecting the world. Her name is Korra. But then she loses her ability to bend the elements and disappears. Who did this and why? Find out in The Rise Of Haman.
1. Chapter 1 Energy

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Korra or Tenzin, they are from the upcoming show: The legend of Korra. But the rest of the characters and the storyline is original. Excluding any refrence to the last airbender characters.

Prologue

7 decades ago Avatar Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozia and brought peace to the four nations. He lived a good and long life protecting that fragile peace. And six or seven decades after the Hundred Year War ended, he died and a new Avatar was Born.

At 16 years old Avatar Korra had to prevent that peace from shattering at the hands of the Anti-Benders. A group of activists that hated all benders blaming them for the century of war that the world had just come out of.

Aang and Katara's son , Tenzin , trained her in the art of airbending and Korra of the water tribe was able to master all four elments and defeat them. After she defeated them they disappeared , going underground. Until a new leader took over, his name was Haman, and this is his rise.

chapter 1: Energy

Avatar Korra had dealt with Anti-Benders before but this was new. She was tracking Haman the head of a renegade Anti-bender group. It had been five years since she had taken down the original Anti-Benders. But small splinter groups still caused trouble sometimes. She suspected that these were going to attack the Earthkingdom town nearby. She'd tracked him all day through the forest to the secret cave at the foot of a volcano, and now the sun was setting, casting long shadows on forest. Then Haman turned and attacked her. Either he just realized that she was following him, or this was a trap.

Korra ducked behind a boulder as a fireball flew over her head. 'I thought he was an Anti-Bender. Emphasis on ANTI,what's he doing firebending!' She thought in surprise.

"Some Avatar you are," Haman taunted,"you go and hide after the first fire ball!"

'Is he calling me a coward?' Korra stood up facing off with Haman. "I wasn't hiding," she said as she stood up. She earthbended and six boulders floated up in a ring around her. Three kicks sent three of them flying at Haman. He blocked them with fireballs and sent a jet of fire from his closed fist. Korra flipped over it and when she landed she sent a wave of rock at Haman. He leaped over it and struck at her with a firewhip. But she blocked it with a waterwhip drawing the water from the air.

'He's no Anti-Bender that's for sure. So what's he planning to accomplish by picking a fight with me?' Korra wondered. She smiled remembering the number of fights she'd had a hand in starting. Her friends said she was a bit head strong and combative. She brushed her thoughts away and focused on the fight.

Haman held a small intensely bright fireball in one hand and ran at her, but she raised a wall of rock in front of herself. And he just blasted through it sending shrapnel flying cutting Korra's face and arms.

"It's time to end this," she said getting said getting a bit annoyed with Haman.

"But were just getting started!" He said and sent a blast of fire from his foot with a kick. She blocked it with a wave of her hand, as if swatting away an insect, and a gust of wind sent the fire into the ceiling. Then she made a fist and a giant rock fist rose from the ground, and she sent it flying into Haman. She did this so fast he didn't have time to react, and went flying into the wall. She walked up to him and grabbed him by the throat, and slammed his head against the wall. He winced in pain.

"What's your problem?" she said her face inches away from his.

Haman had a dark complexion and a scar that wound up his right arm. Like as if he had wrapped a hot chain on it. He glared at Korra with dark confident eyes. He had the look of a man who was used to getting his way.

"You underestimate me, Avatar" he said the last word dripping with sarcasm. He opened his mouth and let out a blast of fire that Korra barely managed to duck away from. She rolled back and sprang to her feet .

"I've been training for years just to fight you, little girl," he said and sent a bolt of lightning right at her. She redirected it, letting the lightning course through her body. She closed her right hand except her index and middle finger sending the lightning right back at him. In response he simply raised his hand, palm out and it bounced off his hand and into the ceiling. With a yell he shot a stream of fire that was laced with lightning at her, and she blocked it with a wall of ice. It shattered from the lightning.

The firebender made a ball of lightning and shot it at her. She ducked and it whizzed over her head, exploding on the cave wall behind her. She went flying forward from the force of the explosion. Haman blasted her back with a jet of fire and she flew out of the cave, landing on the forest floor with a thud.'Owch,'she thought, 'maybey I should have told the guys to come along.'

She looked up at the sky and saw the sun setting behind the volcano, sending an orange and red glow into the sky. Like as if the volcano was on fire.

She got to her feet and earthbended two pillars of rock up out of the ground. One on each side of Haman. She smashed them together but he rolled forward just in time.

' Man this guy's good' Korra thought and then made a pillar of rock shoot up right under him sending him flying into the air. He shot flames down on Korra while he was in the air and landed with a roll. When he came out of the roll Korra was right in front of him, 'but not that good.' And she simply kicked him, her foot connected with his jaw and he fell back down. He tried to trip her but she jumped up and grabbed a low branch above her, swinging like a gymnast she flipped into the air and sent an air-wake down at Haman. But a wall of earth shot up blocking it. Haman rose up on a pillar of rock as she stared.

'Only I can bend more than one element. How did he earthbend?' she thought completely confused now.

"Surprised?" Haman asked," don't be. Even with all my training I know that I can't beat you. Not without help!" He jumped up and a boulder flew right under him and smashed into Korra and she flew back landing flat on her back. She got up and saw an earthbending girl standing a good distance away, ready for anything she threw at her.

Korra sent a wave of rock at her and then kicked a boulder straight to her. She leaped over the wave and landed on top of the boulder just long enough to launch herself at Korra.

Korra shot water tentacles at her, but she blocked them with rocks, and landed in front of her. Then Korra sent a hail of rocks down on her driving her back and she blocked them with a wall of rock that bent over her to protect her. But the Avatar blasted the wall down with a jet of intense fire and the girl turned and ran to the volcano. She made a pillar of rock shoot her high into the air, and then another shot up, and he landed on that one. Each one was taller than the last, she ran up the pillars like as if they were stairs, right up to the volcano rim.

Korra flew after her, fire shooting from her closed fists. 'I've had enough of this game,' she thought. And she landed right behind the earthbender, on the rim of the volcano. The earthbender turned and Korra saw that she was girl about her age.

"Aimi," Haman said to the girl,"leave her we have work to do."

Lava bubbled in the volcano, and cast an eerie shadow on Haman's face. In the fading light he looked like a madman.

'What's he planning?,' Korra wondered.

With a yell he firebended and balls of fire shot at Korra. She blocked them with a wall of earth. Then a third bender walked up to the rim and the three of them worked together. Moving in unison, in a skillful practiced dance. They made the volcano erupt.

Lava blasted at Korra, and she quickly covered herself in a ball of ice. The force of the blast sent her flying down to the town below. The ball shattered on impact with the ground. Korra lied there for a second dazed. Then she realized that people were running all around her in a panic. And she saw the lava headed to the town.

The forest between the town and the volcano turned into a blazing inferno. People streamed to the docs, in hopes of getting out to sea and escaping on their boats. Korra raced to the docs with them to make sure everyone got out safely. But there was no sea. The boats were all beached on what was once a seabed. 'I've got to stop that volcano. NOW,' she thought and airbended to the towns gates. The forest in front of her was blazing and lava seeped through the trees towards the town.

Korra earthbended a wall of rock that rose taller than the towns gate, and was 8 feet thick. It protected the whole side of the town that was facing the volcano, and guided the lava away towards the now dry seabed.

"Good for-"she was cut off by a distant rumble,"not another eruption," she groaned. Then she turned around and saw a massive tidal wave headed towards the town.

On top of a nearby cliff, a group of waterbenders worked together under a rising full moon. Calling the sea back to its place.

"Well at least the sea's returning," she said and shot to the seashore. People ran back into the town away from the tidal wave. And Korra simply made another wall of earth, but this time it was huge. So much so that it was practically a small mountain.

Up on the volcano Haman was surprised. "A volcano and a tidal wave, and she still isn't in the avatar state?" he said.

"Well to activate it she must be under great stress, maybe we should simply toss the man down there," the water bender suggested.

"Yes perfect" Haman said," let's let Korra try to save him."

Down in the town a girl had climbed up on top of a roof to try to get a better view of everything, especially since there was nowhere to run. To her surprise she saw an airship coming towards the town. It stopped a good distance away and landed on the seabed. Someone was pushed off of it and the airship took off, leaving the person right in the path of both the lava and the tidal wave.

"Someone's out there!" the girl shouted. Korra looked out to the sea and saw the person running, but then he fell and didn't get back up. Korra jetted to the person fie shooting from her feet and hands. But the lava and the wave seemed just as eager as her to get to the person first as they raced forward. She poured on more speed. She knew now that this was all an elaborate plan. This Haman guy was trying to get rid of her, 'well it'll take more than this to get rid of me' she thought. Then she got close enough to recognize the person, it was her old airbending teacher, Tenzin.

"No!" she cried out, as she shot down the middle of the two closing waves. They rose on each side of her like walls towering over her. She snatched Tenzin up and saw that he was unconscious . She was about to shoot up and escape the colliding waves, when she realized that she wouldn't make it. The walls were closing too fast. So she put the man down and bent the water and the lava into a funnel around them. Steam rose into the air with an ear splitting hiss. And Korra and Tenzin were safe in the eye of a water/lava vortex.

Then Tenzin vanished. In his place was Aimi the earthbending girl. She quickly got up and bent the earth beneath them into a column of rock, that stood twenty feet above the raging sea. Haman flew down and landed next to them. Korra let the vortex disappear and exclaimed " what the heck is going on here!"

"Simple. I made a volcano erupt. And these," he pointed to the group of waterbenders on the cliff, "created the tidal wave."

"Oh it's ALL clear now," Korra said sarcastically. " Why. Are. You. Doing. This?" she reapeated.

" To end all Avatars, to break the cycle and bring peace finally, and permanently to this world," Haman said.

"You're crazy," she replied, "keeping the peace is my JOB. Ending the cycle of Avatars will only -" she was cut off when Haman sent a jet of fire at her. She shot a blast if wind at it and it dissapated. 'It was a boring conversation anyway' she thought and sent a stream of lava at Haman. Steam billowed up around them as Haman leaped over the lava and shot a fireball from his fist. She easily sidestepped it and sent a dozen ice spikes at him. He blocked it with a wall of fire. But korra leaped through it, without getting so much as a hair burnt. She had a wip of water in one hand, and one of fire in the other. She struck the wips at Haman but he leaped over them, and she turned to face him, stepping close to the edge of the pillar.

Aimi, seeing her chance, made the earth beneath Korra fall away taking Korra with it. They looked over the edge and didn't see Korra anywhere.

"You fool!" Haman shouted turning to face Aimi, "you weren't suppossed to kill her!"

"I thought- I mean she's the Avatar. I didnt think something like that would-" she stopped talking and looked over Haman's shoulder.

"What?" he asked and turned around. Korra was floating behind him, her eyes glowing white. She raised her hand and pointed all five of her fingers at Haman.

" You are trying to upset the balance of things," she said her voice sounded like five of her were talking at once. All saying the same thing,"I cannot allow this to continue." She shot five bolts of lightning at them. Barely missing them as they dove to each side.

"Finally!" Haman said, "I was beginning to think you didnt have an avatar state."

He ran at Korra and she flew to meet him. At the last second he dropped to his knees, sliding under her and grabbed her ankle, pulling her to the ground. She got up and he grabbed her head from behind. Just as she was about to send him flying with a gust of wind he bent her energy. He grabbed her right hand and light poured from their eyes and mouths. Hamans body turned as black as ink and Korra glowed blue.

The night sky was lit up as they battled for supremacy, and Korra was winning, Haman's body was turning blue.

' Haman's losing' Aimi realised as she saw what was happening. So she closed her fist except for her index and middle fiinger and struck Korra on her shoulder. Her fingers hit a nerve and blocked Korra's chi. The energy that they use to bend the elements. The power that was coursing through Korra sent Aimi flying back, and her body flashed white. She got up slowly her head aching, as Haman's body drove the blue out, and seeped into Korra turning her black as ink. Untill only one eye glowed white. And finally that was extinguished.

Haman had bent Korra's energy.


	2. Chapter 2 Recruits

Chapter 2 Recruits

It was a sunny day outside, sky was blue and a cool breeze blew through the fire nation town. Aya, a young woman in her mid 20's, was sitting at a table. She had short black hair that fell just above her shoulders and intense brown eyes. The table she was at was right outside of a tea shop. She marveled at how much the town had changed in the past seven decades. Cars drove down the streets and lampposts lit up the town at night. But the buildings still kept their traditional styles.

Aya was waiting for her friend Horuo. She'd asked him to find out who the best benders in town were. She was hoping to get them to help her with a certain mission she was on.

She noticed that everyone in town was talking about the recent attack on the earth kingdom town, and how Korra had saved the town and then vanished. Rumors were spreading about who had attacked the town.

'It had to be Haman', she thought, 'he's the only one I can imagine being a threat to an Avatar. And her disappearance must mean that he won. We need to find that scroll.'

Horuo walked up the street towards Aya. He was a muscular man in his twenties with a fair complexion and short blond hair. He sat down at Aya's table. "Did you find them?" she asked.

"Yes" he replied.

" Great'' she said looking up from her cup of tea, "where are they? "

" They have parents. "

" What? "She said clearly surprised, " I asked for Benders not child prodigies. "

" They are teenagers. But we'll still have to get their parents to agree."

" Well let's get started," she didn't like the idea of having to talk thier parents into letting them go but she needed thier help. "You have the addresses? " She asked.

Horuo nodded.

Thirty minuets later they were sitting in Jia's small and neat living room. A small fireplace was in front of the couch, and a tabel was set close by for any drinks. Her parents invited them in and they all sat in the living room. Aya had just finished explaining the mission to everyone.

" So you want us to let our daughter to go with you, a woman we've never seen before, on some crazy chase after a scroll that no one believes even exists?" Jai's Father asked, as he set his cup of tea down on the tabel.

Aya and Horuo were sitting on the couch and Jia's parents were sitting on two chairs they had pulled up. Jai was a slim girl with a light brown complexion just like her parents, and black hair that she had cut short similar to Aya's hairslyle. She stood next to the fireplace, quietly listening with some intrest. She wondered what was in the box on Aya's lap. She thought she heard some movement in it.

" The lightbending scroll does exist. And if the people that made the Avatar disappear find it first, well, saying it wouldn't be good would be an understatement," Aya said, " remember what happened last time the Avatar disappeared. A century of war began, until he came back and stopped it. And anyway, you know your daughter can handle herself, she is one of the best waterbenders in the world."

" That may be," Jai's Mom said, "but she's never been in a fight for her life. She's not some kind of soldier. Ready to go into battle and find lost scrolls. The outside world is very dangerous."

Aya took the top off of the box on her lap and said, " look." Everyone peered in too see what was in it. It was an elephant rat. A black rat that had a trunk. Aya snapped her fingers and the rat disappeared. The whole family stared in shock. Aya snapped her fingers again and the rat re-appeared. "I'm not joking lightbending is real. And an army with that power is very dangerous. I need the best help I can get, and your daughter is it."

"Are you saying you can lightbend?" Jia asked.

"No I can't. I found this Elephant-rat and I need to find the scrolls, or others will be able to do the same as this rat."

" What about the boy? Isn't he really good too? Can't he help you? " Jia's Father asked.

" We're gonna ask him to come too, but we still would like your daughter's help. What do you think Jia?" she asked looking the girl in the eye.

'This palce is boring anyway,' Jai thought 'and I don't know how many times I've told Mom that I can take care of mself out there. This'll be my chance to prove it.' " Well I'm all for it, " she said.

" Alright she can go, " Jia's father said," but I'm holding you personally responsible for our daughters safety."

Jai smiled. Her father at least, wasn't so protective.

Her mother was reluctant but finally agreed.

" Fair enough, so then meet me at the dock's tomorrow morning at six am," Aya said and they got up and said goodbye.

Bo, the best earthbender in town couldn't come. No matter that he was 18 and could handle himself in a fight. His parents wouldn't let him come.

" Well if you change your minds meet me at the docks tomorrow morning at six," Aya said as they left.

" Well" she said, to Horuo, as they left his house, "talk about overprotective parents. But we got the girl so it wasn't a total loss."

The next morning they got up early, it was a few minuets before the sunrise when they met Jia at the docks. It was a cool morning the sun cast a purple glow in the sky, and a cool breeze blew through town. Not many poeple were even up yet. A row of one story shops that sold everything a sailor could need, faced the docs. And many ships were docked that morning. A few night gaurds stood around trying not to fall asleep after a long night at thier posts.

"Ok so first thing we need to do is get the map," Aya said.

" You don't allready have it?," Jia asked in surprise.

"No. It's in there," Aya pointed to a fire nation ship docked at a nearby pier. It just had one guard.

"Ok. But were we expecting company? " Jai asked and pointed over her shoulder.

Aya turned around to see what Jia and Horuo were looking at and saw Bo walking up to them. He was a tan guy with short black hair and he had a backpack on. He looked a lot like Jia but was a bit taller.

"So your parents let you come," Aya said when he reached them.

"Yeah," he said. In fact his parents didn't let him go but he had sneaked out while they were sleeping and walked over to the docs. 'No way my parents are gonna make me miss this,' the thought.

" Well our first mission is to get the map from that ship," Aya said, " so stand back." Aya got ready to send a fire ball into an empty shop to create a distraction.

" Wait ," Jia said "why don't we sneak on? At least we won't atract so much attention."

Aya thought for a moment and then said " Ok, Jia and I are gonna go on the ship, Bo and Horuo, you guys stay here and be our backup if anything goes wrong."

Bo nodded, and a few minuets later they were walking across the bay waters on a sheet of ice that Jia made. They went around behind the ship, staying out of sight of everyone, then Jia made some ice stairs up to the ship. They went up the stairs and crouched on the top step. They peeked over the edge of the ship.

The ship was large and made entierly of metal, with a lookout tower in the center of it. There was a door at the base of the tower that led below decks, where the crew and captian slept and the engine room was. The whole ship looked empty.

'Good this shouldn't be too hard' Aya thought. " Come on," she said to Jia and climbed onto the ship. They went to the door on the lookout tower and opened it.

" You know where the map is?" Jia asked.

" It should be in the navigation room. In a safe or something."

" You know where the room is? "

" No."

" That's great, did you even have a plan before we came up here?" Jai hissed.

Aya didn't say anything.

They went down the three steps to the hallway and looked a round. The hallway was lit lit by red lights, and it was so quiet that their own breath sounded loud.

They searched the empty ship for the room, opening door after door. And after a while Jai came upon the right room.

There was a large table in the middle of the room with chairs around it and framed maps covered the walls.

"You see anything?" Aya asked.

" Well this is a room full of maps so I guess I found it. How would I know wich map we need?."

Cupboards lined the floor along the wall. They opened a few of them and only saw books, in the few cupboards that were't empty. Aya started looking behind the maps on the wall.

"Found it," she said, and took down a map revealing the safe behind it. She melted the safe door with a fireball and reached in. 'It shouldn't have been this easy' Aya thought,' are you tripping up Haman? Or...' She took out the map at the same time that they heard footsteps in the hallway.

" Well that was easy,"Jai said,"but we took too long." They heard a voices outside. Bo and Horuo were trying to stall the guards.

"Quick hide,"Aya said, and got in an empty cupboard. Jai followed suit. The door opened and they heard footsetps enter the room.

"We have intruders!" the gaurd shouted when he saw the open safe, and he ran out.

Aya and Jia got out of the cupboard and Jia jumped on the table.

" Good idea," Aya said when she saw the vent in the ceiling. They opened the vent and it swung down. They climbed up into the vent and closed it behind them.

" You know how to get off the ship? " Jia asked.

"All these grills lead to the outside. Eventually," Aya said "and then you can waterbend us to land."

Jia nodded and they kept crawling. The vents were dusty and dark, spiders skittered away as they crawled by, the vents were lit up by an occasional grill. "Whatever you do don't sneeze," Aya said, "the way these vents are, the whole ship would hear you if you did."

"Ok" Jia said.

They were passing over the guards room when the dust tickled Jai's nose, she tried to stilfle it but she still sneezed. The sound echoed through the vent and into the room below, where the gaurds were searching for them.

"What did i tell you girl?" Aya hissed angrily.

"Sorry. It's not like I did it on pourpose!" Jia snapped.

"What was that?" one of the men asked. They froze as the gaurds looked up. Then the grill that Aya was on gave out and dropped her right into the middle of the room, that was filled with six firebending guards. She rolled to her feet and ran for the door, but one of the guards slammed a chair into her back sending her sprawling onto the floor. The seven guards rushed her and she let out a breath of fire. Sending them flying back.

Jia crawled over the empty vent and waited for an opening so she could help.

Aya stood up and ducked just as quickly. Dodging a punch and sending a fireball into the guard. He flew back out the door, and knocked another guard down. One of the four remaining guards came up behind her. She spun around and hit him in the chest with a fire ball that sent him flying.

She dropped down and tripped another guard. She turned and ran out of the room and down the hallway. The guards were right behind her. 'Gotta lose them quick' she thought. She turned a corner and ran right into the Captain of the ship. They fell to the floor in a tangle. She got up quickly and turned to face the guards and their captain. 'I could run. There's no one behind me' she thought.

" So this is the intruder that stole the map," the Captain said, " give it back. Now." He held out his hand.

Then the grill behind the guards and the captian quietly opened, and Jia dropped down without a sound.

" I don't have it. But she does." Aya pointed to Jai. Everyone turned and stared at Jai. Jia's mouth dropped open in surprise. ' Aya, what are you doing?' she thought in confusion.

Aya used the distraction to bend the electricity out of the sockets on the wall next to her, and sent a jolt into the guards and their Captain. They fell to the floor and Aya stopped.

"Oh," Jia said letting out a breath in relief.

" What you didn't actually think I was gonna betray you? After I promised your parents I'd look out for you? Now how do we get out of here?"

Then the ceiling was ripped open and Bo looked down on them. Fire balls flew over his head as he helped them up.


	3. Chapter 3 Escape part 1

Chapter 3 Escape part 1

Once Jai got on the deck of the ship she saw a group of the soldiers headed right at them.

"Why didn't you didn't get rid of the gaurds first?" she exclaimed.

"Well Horou said he had a plan," Bo said defensively.

The soldiers marched up to them. " Give me the map," one of them said.

The soldiers all wore black military uniforms. And a few of them, that were clearly waterbenders, had jugs of water hanging at their sides.

"No," Aya said, and stepped to the side, to let Jai bend the water from one of the soldiers bottles. Jia whipped the water at the soldiers, driving them back a bit. They responded with fireballs, and Bo quickly bent a small section of the ship's deck up, into a shield between them and the soldiers.

"Is that all they can do?" he wonderd out loud, "throw fireballs?"

"Don't tell me this is the plan," Jai said as she crouched behind the shield.

"I dont know what Horou is doing," Bo said defensively.

"Don't worry," Aya said, " Horou has a plan."

As if on cue a loud explosion blasted thruogh the air, and the ship tilted sharply forward, and slowly sunk nose first.

"Woah!" Bo exclaimed, and grabbed the edge of the shield, to keep from sliding down to the sea. Aya & Jia quickly followed suit.

Soldiers slid down all around them. Some grabbed onto ropes to halt thier slide. Others fell into the water and swam for shore. One soldier thought fast, and froze the water around the ship as he was sliding down. The small island of ice he created stopped the ship from sinking any further.

"Follow me," Aya said and let go. Jai looked Bo and raised one eyebrow. He just smiled and let go.

All three of them slid down the ship, and bolted for the shore as soon as they hit the ice. Other soldiers on the ice ran after them.

"Horou mst have blasted a hole in the ships hull. So he's got to be somewhere nearby," Aya continued.

Jai was about to create an ice bridge to the shore, when three soldiers bursted out of the water, and grabbed onto the edge of the ice.

"Woah!" Bo exclaimed again, and then saw Horou riding towards them. In a red speed boat." There's Horou!" Bo said.

The soldiers quickly climbed onto the ice. One lunged at Jai, but she bent a tentacle of water from the sea, that grabbed him around the waist. It lifted him into the air, like some kind of giant octopus had grabbed the man, and tossed him head first, into a trash can onshore. He had a hard time getting back out.

The other one tried to punch Bo, but he ducked just in time and gave him an uppercut that sent him falling back into the sea.

Horou had reached them by then, and Aya jumped onboard. Jia froze the last one in a block of ice and she and Bo jumped in the boat.

The frozen soldier glared at the escaping boat. The ice around him began to melt and finally, in one explosive blast of fire, he freed himself. He shot jets of fire from his fists that propelled him into the air.

'You're not getting away that easily' he thought to himself as he flew after them.

"That was a good plan Horou," Jia said, "you had me worried there for a second."

Horou just nodded.

"Not much for conversation are you?" she mutterd to herself.

"Hey look behind us!" Bo said and pointed to the firebender that was chasing them.

"Of course," Aya said, "things can never just go smoothly."

"Hey I froze him!" Jia exclaimed indignantly.

The soldier landed on the bow of the boat, and smashed the windshield. Horou covered his face as the shards of glass went flying. Then he lunged at the soldier, knocking him onto his back. The man shoved Horou aside and stood up. But he was immediately struck by a water whip that Jia launched at him , and he nearly fell off the boat. Horou tripped him and he finally did. But he sent a final fireball into the side of the boat as they sped away. It hit the side of the boat blasting a gaping hole in it.

Horou almost fell off as the boat rocked from the impact. But he regained his balance and climbed into the drivers seat.

"We've gotta head back to shore" Aya said.

"Who was that guy?" Jia asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like him," Bo said.

It was a rocky shore, with pebbles instead of sand, and a tall green forest that stood a few yards inland. Jia bent the tide up so that the boat got beached and then they followed a trail into the forest. The forest was shaded from the mid-morning sun by all the trees, and it was quiet. A big change from the town that Jia and Bo grew up in. All they could hear was the endless buzzing of the misquitos. There were hundreds of them and they all seemed 2 be targeting Bo.

"Hey Horou how'd u get that boat so quick?" he asked Horou as he swatted at the pesky insects.

"I hotwired it" he responded.

"What!" Bo exclaimed "so now were criminals! Great."

"I left some money in the boat to repair the damage," Aya said.

"Where are we headed now?" Jia asked.

"There's a town nearby where we can get a ship. And then we can get some lunch."

"Good, I'm so hungry I could eat a sky-bison," Bo said.

Bo and Jia were glad when they left the misquito infested forest. It was around noon and Bo had so many bites he looked like he had chicken pox.

"How come these bugs are going after me?" Bo complianed.

"Maybey you taste good," Jia teased.

The sun blazed overhead and the trail led through some grassy hills, to a bridge that was over a river.

They followed the trail and enterd the town.

"I'm starved" Bo said, and headed to a nearby vendor that was selling lunches.

"Stay here" Aya said, "I'll go get us a ship and meet you back here soon."

"Ok," Jia said, and went to get some lunch with Bo.

Horou left with Aya.

The town was large and loud. Buildings towered over the crowds of people that filled the streets. It wasn't a metropolis, yet. Street performers drew crowds and every now and then bicyclists zipped down the street on errands.

Jia and Bo were each eating cup of ramen noodels and watching a magician bring a fly back to life, when Jia felt something bump her leg. She looked down and saw a small dog looking up at her.

He looked like a little furball, with long shaggy hair and small beady eyes. His little tail wagged as he looked up at Jia.

"Aww are you hungry?" she asked it. She knelt down and gave it the rest of her noodles.

Bo looked down and saw her feeding the dog. "Oh no," he said, when the dog looked up at him, "you're not getting any of my food."

The dog turned his head as if to ask 'why not?'

They sat down at a bench and Jia decided to name the dog Da.

"Da?" Bo asked,"allrighty then. Whatever."

Unknown to them they were being watched. By one of the soldiers they had just ecaped from earlier that morning.

Thirty minuets later Aya met back with them and said, "we've got a ship, and a room for the night. The ship leaves in the morning."

"Ok, so where are we headed?" Jia asked.

"East, according to the map the scroll is on a string of islands in the east."

"Alright lets go!" Bo said and got up.

'What is with this lady?' Jia wondered 'she didn't even acknowledge Da.'

The followed Aya to The Blue Moon Motel. It was a small one story building in the shape of a u. With the main office in the center.

Aya opened the door to room 215 and gave a key to Bo.

"You're in room 216. Be up and ready by six," She said.

"Ok," Bo said and entered his room.

The room was just big enough for two beds, the small table next to the A.C, and the chest of drawers that was against the wall, facing the beds. The bathroom was at the back of the room next to the closet. A tan carpet covered the floor, and matching curtains covered the window above the A.C.

"Take off your shoes," Horou said to Bo. Horou was sitting at the tabel looking at the map.

"Hey you can talk!" Bo said and smiled at his joke as he walked in. He closed the door and sat at the tabel.

"So you're making a copy," he said as he looked at the map.

Horou had a blank piece of paper the same size as the map, and was drawing a very accurate replica of the map.

"In case anything happens to the map," Bo countinued, "smart."

Horou kept drawing.

"Ok then. I'm gonna take a nap," Bo said, and flopped onto the bed next to the tabel. He qickly fell asleep. With his shoes on.

Across the street two of Haman's soldiers were watching The Blue Moon Motel. Thier names were Akima and Dranok.

Akima was a skilled tracker and spy. As soon as Aya and the others escaped she was contacted and told to trail them. It didn't take long for her Shirshu to pick up on thier scent. Now it was just a matter of waiting for backup.

Akima was an athletic woman in her 30's. She had long black hair and cold blue eyes. She was dressed in black cargo panrts and t-shirt.

They hired a ship that's headed east and then came here," She said to Dranok.

"Good, we'll just get them before they leave," Dranok said. He wore a Black leather trench coat over his soldier's uniform.

"Wait here for backup." he said and then left.


	4. Chapter 4 Escape part 2

Chapter four escape part 2

In room 215 Jia had just finished giving Da a bath. As soon as she came in the first thing she did, was wash the little dog. Now she was drying him off in the bathroom. She had allways loved animals. At home she was allways coming home with strays of all sorts. So when she saw Da, she just couldn't leave him on the streets.

But Aya clearly didn't care for the dog. She insisted that he be kept in the bathroom, and Jia, not wanting any accidents on the white carpet, didn't argue.

After Da was dry Jia closed the bathroom door and sat on the bed. Their room was an exact replica of Bo and Horou' was standing by the window, she had closed the curtian of their window, but was peeking behind it.

'I wonder what her story is?' Jia wondered, 'she seems like she's mad at someone.' "So," Jia began to say, but Aya cut her off and said," we're being watched."

"What?" Jia exclaimed and rushed to the window. She peeked around the curtian and saw, nothing. No one was outside. "I don't see anyone," Jia said.

"She's there, just hidden, " Aya said.

"Oh well I don' see anything," Jia said, and sat on one of the beds.

Aya went to the phone on the table and dialed a number. " Hey Junjie it's me Aya," she said in a friendly tone of voice. Much to Jia's surprise. 'I've never heard her so...friendly,' Jia thought.

"We might need a place to stay," Aya was saying. As soon as she finished her sentence the front door opened.

A few minuets earlier Akima's radio crackled. " Backup is here," a man's voice said over the radio.

She got the two-way radio from her pocket and said," the targets are in rooms 215 and 216. Detain everyone there and seperate the dog from them."

Akima looked to the rooftops to make sure that everyone was in place. Four soldiers crouched on the rooftops across the street from the Motel. And three others were in the ally next to her.

'Good,' she said to herself,"move out!," she said into the radio, "you guys on the roof, stay there in case we need backup."

Akima liked things to go acording to plan. So, to make sure they did, she allways had a backup plan. Sometimes things still went south but not this time, 'it's just a bag and tag job,' she thought,'easy.' But overconfidence was allways her weakness.

They moved in swiftly and silently. Akima was leading the attack. She took out a key card and used it to open the door. 'Universal key,' she thought,'clever.' She busted through the door and saw Jia and Aya in the room.

'Just one woman and a little girl,' she thought in surprise.

Aya dropped the phone and bent a wall of flames right in front of the soldiers. Jia sent icicles shooting at the soldiers, but they blocked them with fireballs. Then Aya blasted a hole into the left wall and leaped through. Jia follwed close behind.

Akima ran back outside to open the door to the next room.

Bo was sleeping when Aya blasted a hole right over his head, and jumped through. She nearly landed on him as he sat up in surprise. " What?" he asked groggily. That was all he managed to say before Jia came flying through the hole, and crashed right into him, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Get off of me!" Jia said and shoved him to the side.

"Hey, you're the one who landed on me!" Bo said angrily.

"Horou did you finish it?" Aya asked.

"Yes" he said, and handed Aya the copy of the map.

Earlier that day, after she had rented the rooms, Aya bought four backpacks and put them in Bo's closet. Now she took them out and stuck the map in one. She put the backpack on and handed one to everyone else.

"Allright people," Aya began to say," lets-," she was cut off when the door burst open, and a fireball whizzed by her head. Akima stepped inside and stepped to the left, to let three soldiers enter. One of them bent the earth up from under the floor. It tore through the carpet, and encased the team's feet in small hills of rock. All this happened in the space of a few seconds.

"Aw come on," Bo complained,"we have to fight you people twice in one day?"

"We got away from you guys before," Jia said," we can easily do it again."

"No you can't," Akima said, " we are the elite of Haman's army. You're not escaping from us."

Akima walked up to Aya and said," Haman has special plans for you."

'Who is this haman?' Jia wondered.

Bo quietly bent the rocks and freed his feet. Then, in a flash, he freed the others.

Once Aya was free she jabbed her knee into Akima's stomach, and hit her over her head with both fists. The stunned woman fell to the floor.

'That was easy,' Aya thought. "Go back to our room!" she shouted.

Everyone but the soldiers ran back throught the hole in the wall. While Aya kept the soldiers busy.

Akima stood up, her eyes were ablaze with fury. "No one escapes from me," she said, and took out three throwing stars. She launched them at Aya but Aya managed to dodge two of them. The third one grazed her left shoulder, and she winced in pain.

'Ok now you made me mad,' Aya thought. She bent the electricity from all the sockets in the room, causing the power to go out in the entire block. Blue light from the electricity filled the darkened room. And filled it with a flickering blue light.

Aya let out a yell, and sent the lightning flying at Akira and the soldiers. It struck them head on, and sent the soldiers flying out the door. But Akmia crashed through the window.

In the next room Jia went to get Da from the bathroom, and saw that the door was gone, blown off it's hinges.

'They got Da,' she thought in dismay. But then much to her relief she heard a bark, and Da came out of the bathroom, wagging his little stump of a tail.

"Oh Da!" she said, and picked him up in her arms.

"Uh Jia?" Bo said," a little help here."

The wall of flames that Aya had made was still burning strong. Jia bent some water from the sink and put the flames out, then they ran outside and met up with Aya.

Up on the rooftops across the street, Akima's backup soldiers were watching. One of them gave a hand signal and they all leaped down. Slowing thier fall with jets of fire that shot from their hands.

A crowd of people from the motel and nearby buildings, were watching from a safe distance. Aya heard police sirens drawing closer.

The four soldiers walked through the crowd towards Aya. Before she could see them in the crowd, one of them tossed a small bead at her. It landed at her feet and released a white fog. The fog spread out and no one could see anything more than shapes moving around.

Bo closed his eyes and sensed the vibrations of everyones footsteps, through the ground. But the soldiers stepped so lightly that he couldn't sense them.

Aya heard a yell and a scuffle. She headed towards the sound, and grabbed at the first shape she saw. It was Horou.

"They got the map," he said.

Aya nodded. She had suspected that might happen.

Jia bent the water vapor that created the fog away and they could see clearly again. Then the team quickly walked away. They were on the next block when the cops sped by, heading to the motel.

"We have a problem," Aya said," they have the map. So they'll be headed to get the scroll as soon as they can. We need to hurry."

"Can we get the captain to leave tonight?" Jia asked.

"No, he has other passengers and won't leave without them,"Aya responded, "but I know a friend that we can stay with tonight."

They eventually entered a residential area. Houses lined the street on both sides. Most had green lawns, with flowerbeds and a tree or two. Junjie's was a simple house. With a porch that wrapped around the entire house, and a stone path that led to the front door. The house itself was painted brown, with a white trim and a blue door.

The sun was setting as they walked up to the house. Jia saw a cresent moon rising in the sky. The north star was shining next to it, like a dimple made by a smile.

The door swung open before Aya had even knocked, and a scruffy looking man in his fourties stood in the doorway. His clothes were wrinkled and he had a bit of stubble on his face.

"Aya!" he said witha big smile," and Horou. It's been a while. Come in, who are your friends?"

Aya smiled and gave the man a hug. "You haven't changed a bit," she said.

" Well it hasn't been _that_ long," he responded.

They entered into the house and Junjie began clearing the couch for them to entire living room was messy, filled with books and papers, and maps.A fireplace stood in front of the couch and a small tabel was in one corner of the room. Once the couch was clear Bo flopped down on it. There were several chairs in the room, and Junjie brought them forward for Aya and Horou. Jia sat on the couch.

Jia remembered Aya calling him from thier motel room earlier.'If he knew we were coming why didn't he clean up earlier?' she wondered.

"So you guys need a place to stay right?" Junjie said.

"How'd you know?" Bo asked.

"Aya called him just before the attack," Jia said.

"So she knew we were gonna be attacked and didn't bother to tell us?" Bo exclaimed.

"No, I didn't know,"Aya said, "but never mind." She turned to Junjie and said, "JJ, we got the map."

"Really?" Junjie said in surprise, "so that means Haman doesn't have it yet. Very good. But do you really think you should take these kids along? Remember what happ-,"

"Of course I rememer," Aya said in a crontrolled tone, "but they can handle themselves," Aya said ," and I need thier help."

Junjie still looked doubtful, but he sook his head and said," well I'll show you to your rooms and get dinner ready."

"By the way Haman's got a copy of the map too," Aya added.

"Not good," JJ said.

After Junjie showed them thier rooms Jia went to the kitchen to feed Da. Junjie was in the kitchen too, he was looking for food to cook.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"Da," Jia said.

"That means intelligent in Chinese. It's a good name."

Jia smiled and JJ took out some dog food and put it in a bowl for Da. He explained that he liked to feed the strays in town.

"So uh, exactly how dangerous is this mission were on?" Jia asked.

"Well let's just say that last time Aya wen't up against Haman it didn't end well."

"Who's Haman?"

"You mean Aya didn't tell you?" JJ asked in surprise.

"No I didn't," Aya said. She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, glaring at JJ.

JJ stood and faced Aya, she said,"it doesn't concern them. We're gonna find the scroll and give it to the Fire Lord. Haman won't be invovled."

"And if he captures you?" JJ asked.

"He won't," Aya said, and left.

'So she is mad at some one' Jia thought,' but who is Haman?'

* * *

><p>After they had eaten dinner Aya went outside and was standing on the porch looknig at the was thinking of a time when she was more trusting, happier,and more open. Today she ony trusted her oldest and closest of friends. Like JJ.<p>

JJ came out side and sat on a chair behind Aya. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Aya said without turning around.

"They need to know about Haman."

"That was, and still is personall. You had no right to go-," Aya was cut off when JJ said,"You're not just looking for that scroll. You want revenge."

"I'm just gonna get the scroll, and give it to my father," Aya said, " then the kids can go back home and I'll go after Haman myself."

"If things get out of controll, then they'll need to know how dangerous he is,"

"Don't worry," Aya said, as she turned and looked him in the eye," I'll tell them if I have to."

"Good, now about Korra's dissapearance."

"What about it?"

"Well history repeats itself. If you can't find her, then some one has to be out there that can stop Haman."

"Yes. that's me," Aya said.

"No he can probably bend all four elements now. Not even Ozia could challange him."

She didn't want to admit it but he was right, 'last time I fought Haman I nearly died,' she thought.

"If we come across someone that powerfull, I'll get him to join us, but I'm killing Haman myself."

"Just don't go up against Haman by yourself," JJ said.

"Don't worry I won't repeat my mistakes."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 3 Escape part 1

Once Jai got on the deck of the ship she saw a group of the soldiers headed right at them.

"Why didn't you didn't get rid of the gaurds first?" she exclaimed.

"Well Horou said he had a plan," Bo said defensively.

The soldiers marched up to them. " Give me the map," one of them said.

The soldiers all wore black military uniforms. And a few of them, that were clearly waterbenders, had jugs of water hanging at their sides.

"No," Aya said, and stepped to the side, to let Jai bend the water from one of the soldiers bottles. Jia whipped the water at the soldiers, driving them back a bit. They responded with fireballs, and Bo quickly bent a small section of the ship's deck up, into a shield between them and the soldiers.

"Is that all they can do?" he wonderd out loud, "throw fireballs?"

"Don't tell me this is the plan," Jai said as she crouched behind the shield.

"I dont know what Horou is doing," Bo said defensively.

"Don't worry," Aya said, " Horou has a plan."

As if on cue a loud explosion blasted thruogh the air, and the ship tilted sharply forward, and slowly sunk nose first.

"Woah!" Bo exclaimed, and grabbed the edge of the shield, to keep from sliding down to the sea. Aya & Jia quickly followed suit.

Soldiers slid down all around them. Some grabbed onto ropes to halt thier slide. Others fell into the water and swam for shore. One soldier thought fast, and froze the water around the ship as he was sliding down. The small island of ice he created stopped the ship from sinking any further.

"Follow me," Aya said and let go. Jai looked Bo and raised one eyebrow. He just smiled and let go.

All three of them slid down the ship, and bolted for the shore as soon as they hit the ice. Other soldiers on the ice ran after them.

"Horou mst have blasted a hole in the ships hull. So he's got to be somewhere nearby," Aya continued.

Jai was about to create an ice bridge to the shore, when three soldiers bursted out of the water, and grabbed onto the edge of the ice.

"Woah!" Bo exclaimed again, and then saw Horou riding towards them. In a red speed boat." There's Horou!" Bo said.

The soldiers quickly climbed onto the ice. One lunged at Jai, but she bent a tentacle of water from the sea, that grabbed him around the waist. It lifted him into the air, like some kind of giant octopus had grabbed the man, and tossed him head first, into a trash can onshore. He had a hard time getting back out.

The other one tried to punch Bo, but he ducked just in time and gave him an uppercut that sent him falling back into the sea.

Horou had reached them by then, and Aya jumped onboard. Jia froze the last one in a block of ice and she and Bo jumped in the boat.

The frozen soldier glared at the escaping boat. The ice around him began to melt and finally, in one explosive blast of fire, he freed himself. He shot jets of fire from his fists that propelled him into the air.

'You're not getting away that easily' he thought to himself as he flew after them.

"That was a good plan Horou," Jia said, "you had me worried there for a second."

Horou just nodded.

"Not much for conversation are you?" she mutterd to herself.

"Hey look behind us!" Bo said and pointed to the firebender that was chasing them.

"Of course," Aya said, "things can never just go smoothly."

"Hey I froze him!" Jia exclaimed indignantly.

The soldier landed on the bow of the boat, and smashed the windshield. Horou covered his face as the shards of glass went flying. Then he lunged at the soldier, knocking him onto his back. The man shoved Horou aside and stood up. But he was immediately struck by a water whip that Jia launched at him , and he nearly fell off the boat. Horou tripped him and he finally did. But he sent a final fireball into the side of the boat as they sped away. It hit the side of the boat blasting a gaping hole in it.

Horou almost fell off as the boat rocked from the impact. But he regained his balance and climbed into the drivers seat.

"We've gotta head back to shore" Aya said.

"Who was that guy?" Jia asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like him," Bo said.

It was a rocky shore, with pebbles instead of sand, and a tall green forest that stood a few yards inland. Jia bent the tide up so that the boat got beached and then they followed a trail into the forest. The forest was shaded from the mid-morning sun by all the trees, and it was quiet. A big change from the town that Jia and Bo grew up in. All they could hear was the endless buzzing of the misquitos. There were hundreds of them and they all seemed 2 be targeting Bo.

"Hey Horou how'd u get that boat so quick?" he asked Horou as he swatted at the pesky insects.

"I hotwired it" he responded.

"What!" Bo exclaimed "so now were criminals! Great."

"I left some money in the boat to repair the damage," Aya said.

"Where are we headed now?" Jia asked.

"There's a town nearby where we can get a ship. And then we can get some lunch."

"Good, I'm so hungry I could eat a sky-bison," Bo said.

Bo and Jia were glad when they left the misquito infested forest. It was around noon and Bo had so many bites he looked like he had chicken pox.

"How come these bugs are going after me?" Bo complianed.

"Maybey you taste good," Jia teased.

The sun blazed overhead and the trail led through some grassy hills, to a bridge that was over a river.

They followed the trail and enterd the town.

"I'm starved" Bo said, and headed to a nearby vendor that was selling lunches.

"Stay here" Aya said, "I'll go get us a ship and meet you back here soon."

"Ok," Jia said, and went to get some lunch with Bo.

Horou left with Aya.

The town was large and loud. Buildings towered over the crowds of people that filled the streets. It wasn't a metropolis, yet. Street performers drew crowds and every now and then bicyclists zipped down the street on errands.

Jia and Bo were each eating cup of ramen noodels and watching a magician bring a fly back to life, when Jia felt something bump her leg. She looked down and saw a small dog looking up at her.

He looked like a little furball, with long shaggy hair and small beady eyes. His little tail wagged as he looked up at Jia.

"Aww are you hungry?" she asked it. She knelt down and gave it the rest of her noodles.

Bo looked down and saw her feeding the dog. "Oh no," he said, when the dog looked up at him, "you're not getting any of my food."

The dog turned his head as if to ask 'why not?'

They sat down at a bench and Jia decided to name the dog Da.

"Da?" Bo asked,"allrighty then. Whatever."

Unknown to them they were being watched. By one of the soldiers they had just ecaped from earlier that morning.

Thirty minuets later Aya met back with them and said, "we've got a ship, and a room for the night. The ship leaves in the morning."

"Ok, so where are we headed?" Jia asked.

"East, according to the map the scroll is on a string of islands in the east."

"Alright lets go!" Bo said and got up.

'What is with this lady?' Jia wondered 'she didn't even acknowledge Da.'

The followed Aya to The Blue Moon Motel. It was a small one story building in the shape of a u. With the main office in the center.

Aya opened the door to room 215 and gave a key to Bo.

"You're in room 216. Be up and ready by six," She said.

"Ok," Bo said and entered his room.

The room was just big enough for two beds, the small table next to the A.C, and the chest of drawers that was against the wall, facing the beds. The bathroom was at the back of the room next to the closet. A tan carpet covered the floor, and matching curtains covered the window above the A.C.

"Take off your shoes," Horou said to Bo. Horou was sitting at the tabel looking at the map.

"Hey you can talk!" Bo said and smiled at his joke as he walked in. He closed the door and sat at the tabel.

"So you're making a copy," he said as he looked at the map.

Horou had a blank piece of paper the same size as the map, and was drawing a very accurate replica of the map.

"In case anything happens to the map," Bo countinued, "smart."

Horou kept drawing.

"Ok then. I'm gonna take a nap," Bo said, and flopped onto the bed next to the tabel. He qickly fell asleep. With his shoes on.

Across the street two of Haman's soldiers were watching The Blue Moon Motel. Thier names were Akima and Dranok.

Akima was a skilled tracker and spy. As soon as Aya and the others escaped she was contacted and told to trail them. It didn't take long for her Shirshu to pick up on thier scent. Now it was just a matter of waiting for backup.

Akima was an athletic woman in her 30's. She had long black hair and cold blue eyes. She was dressed in black cargo panrts and t-shirt.

They hired a ship that's headed east and then came here," She said to Dranok.

"Good, we'll just get them before they leave," Dranok said. He wore a Black leather trench coat over his soldier's uniform.

"Wait here for backup." he said and then left.


	6. Chapter 6 Tiapie

**Chapter six Tiapie**

"What was that?" Bo exclaimed.

"The dog can airbend?" Aya said," interesting."

"Awesome!,"Jia said, and picked up Da, giving the little dog a hug.

"Well we can figure this out later. Lets go before those guys show up again," Aya said.

After the had dragged the damanged boat onshore, they hid it in some bushes.

"Ok," Aya said,"we need to head to the other side of the island." She took out the map and looked at it."The quickest way to the opposite shore is through the forest. There's a cliff that we'll need to cross. But according to the map there are some tunnels that we can use to cut through the cliff."

"We have to hurry," Jia said, "those soldiers have a head start."

Da barked as if in agreement.

They trekked into the forest. It was a bright hot day with not a cloud in the sky. The forest was thick and humid. Bugs flew by and birds chirped from thier nests.

'At least there aren't as many misquitos here,' Bo thought.

* * *

><p>Sorako was not one to give up easily. After Jia and the guys had left, he quickly got in another boat and headed to shore. He saw the battle between them and the soldiers. But he was able to avoid being seen. He waited untill he saw everyone enter the forest and then headed in to shore. Sorako got out of his boat and dragged it onshore. He hid it in some bushes and used a palm branch to wipe out the drag marks in the sand.<p>

'Now to find Jia and her friends,' he thought.

Crack! He heard a branch snap and spun around to face the forest. He peered into the forest searching for the source of the noise. And then he found it. Two soldiers stepped out of the forest.

'It's those guys that were after Jia,' he thought. ' I thought I had avoided them.'

"Haman has a mission for you Sorako," one of the men said.

* * *

><p>Aya and the team had been walking for hours. The heat, the humid sticky heat, was getting to them. Sweat dripped from their faces and soaked their clothes.<p>

"How much further?" Bo asked.

"We'll get to the cliff by sunset,"Aya said.

"Good," Jia said. It was a few hours after midday so the evening wasn't too far away.

Then Jia heard something move in the forest. 'something's following us,' she thought.

"Any idea how Da can make sound waves?" Bo asked.

"Well," Aya said,"sound waves are just vibrations in the air. So a master Airbender should be able to create them. In theory. But it's never been done before. How a little dog can create them is a mystery."

Da turned and growled at the bushes. 'Da hears it too,' Jia thought. "Hey guys. Did you hear that?" she said.

"Ha Ha," Bo said,"you're just trying to scare us."

"No se-" Jia was cut off when a giant scorpion snake shot out of the bushes and lunged at Jia. She jumped back and it missed her by a few inches.

It was a fifty foot snake with a scorpion's stinger, legs and claws. It would draw it's legs in whenever it wanted to move really fast, and slither on it's stomach like a snake.

Aya bent a ring of fire around it and everyone ran.

"What was that?" Bo asked as they ran.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of a scorpion snake?" Aya asked.

"Giant man eating snakes don't exactly roam the streets back home," Jia said.

Da barked as a tree branch fell down in front of them blocking their way. It was cut down by a strike from the scorpion snakes tail.

"Ahh!" Jia yelped.

The snake was right behind them. Da sent a sound wave at the snake. But the snake was so large that the wave just made it skid back a few feet. Then Jia drew water out of the trees around her, and created a huge ice disc. The disc was razor sharp and as thin as a card. She sent it at the snake but it shattered the disc with one strike from it's tail.

Bo bent a large rock up into the air and sent it flying at the snake. The beast struck at it as well, and the rock split in half. Revealing that Aya had leaped up right behind the rock, using it as a shield. She sent a fire ball flying at the snake. But it seemed to do little if anything. The snake snatched Aya up in one of it's claws. And she yelped in surprise.

Horou took out some brass knuckles from his backpack and put them on. He rarely had to use them, but this time he had no choice. He ran at the snake, and it swiped at him with it's tail. Hourou ducked under it's tail and punched it.

The snake hissed and backed up. Then a shadow fell across its face. The shadow was so black, that it looked as if someone had poured ink on it's face. The beast hissed and thrashed, as if it had gone blind, and finally dropped Aya. Then Sorako dropped down from the branches above. "Hey guys," he said, "we'd better get going. I can't hold that blindness shadow forever."

"I told you not to come," Aya said.

"And I don't take orders from you," Sorako replied.

"How did you?" Jia asked. She was completely confused now.

"Run now. Talk later!" he said and ran. Everyone followed.

After a while they felt that they were far enough away. So they took a break.

"So Sorako," Bo said,"what was that back there?"

"Yeah,"Jia said,"how did you do that shadow thing?"

"That was shadow bending," Sorako said,"it's an ancient bending art that my father taught me."

"Of course," Aya said," every bending art has an opposite. Earth has Air. Water has Fire, and Light has Shadow."

"Oh," Jia said.

"So now we have another scroll to go after?" Bo asked.

"No," Sorako said," my family has the shadow bending scroll. No one will get to it."

"You don't know Haman," Aya said, "if he finds out about the shadow scroll he will get his hands on it."

"Who's Haman?" Sorako asked.

"Someone who wants to use the scrolls to start a war," Aya said.

"Oh, well then lets get moving!" Sorako said as he got up.

They arrived at the cliff right at sunset. And camped near the entrance of the tunnels.

"We'll camp here for the night," Aya said, "and head into the tunnels in the morning."

It was a cool and starry night. Aya was taking the first watch. Her mind wandered as she stood leaning against a tree. 'We're so close now,' she thought,'I'll finally be able to take on Haman.' Her mind flashed back to that day, five years ago, that Haman betrayed her.

It was a rainy day and lightning flashed outside of a cave. Aya, Junjie and Haman were in the cave.

"You betrayed me!" Aya screamed at Haman. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Aya, I had to," Haman said.

"Liar!" Aya shouted and sent a blast of fire at Haman, but he met it with his own blast. The two streams of fire pushed at each other. Then Haman leaped to the right, and Aya's flames shot past him.

"I'm sorry Aya," Haman said and bent lightning. He sent a bolt right at Aya. It hit her full on and she was blasted right out of the cave.

Aya cleared her head of the memories and looked around. The flickering flames cast shadows on the forest around the campsite. She saw a shadow move, and tensed expecting and attack. But nothing happened.

"Guess it was nothing," she said to herself.

The next morning they ate a light breakfast over the campfire, and headed into the tunnels.

It was humid in the tunnels, and a small stream of water trickled down the middle of the tunnel..

"Everyone stay together," Aya said. She created a ball of fire in her left hand, to light their way.

"Well at least nothing is living in here," Bo said.

"Don't jinx it!" Jia hissed at him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we can handle whatever we meet up with," Sorako said.

They walked for a long while before they reached a fork in the tunnel.

"Does the map say witch way to take?" Jia asked.

"It says we should take the right tunnel," Aya said.

"But which is the wrong tunnel?" Bo asked. And smiled at his own joke.

Jia punched him on the shoulder and said,"let's go before Bo makes anymore lame jokes."

They trekked down the right hand tunnel. The flame in Aya's hand made a made shadows dance across the cavern walls. For a second Jia thought she thought she saw someone up ahead. But then the person disappeared.

A while later they saw a dim light up ahead.

"Finally!" Bo said,"I thought we'd never-" he stopped mid-sentence, when he saw that the light wasn't sign of an exit. The light came from a small hole in the ceiling, of a large cavern. In the middle of the cavern was a meteor rock. At the other end of the cavern was another tunnel.

The rock was about the size of a basketball, and it sat on top of a short pedestal. The sunlight filled the cavern with a dim glow.

"Why is this rock on a pedestal?" Jia asked.

"I don't know," Bo said, then he walked up to the rock and picked it up.

"Are you sure you should be touching that?" Jia asked.

"It's a moonstone," Aya said.

"A what?" Jia asked.

"It enhances a waterbender's powers."

"Exactly," a man said. He was dressed in red, from his boots to his t-shirt. He a was bald man with a dark complexion . "What are you people doing here?" he asked them.

"My name is Aya and we're just passing through," Aya said as Bo put the stone back on the pedestal.

"It's too bad you found the moonstone," the man said," now I can't let you leave.

"Hey look, man," Sorako said, "there are five of us and one of you."

Da barked indignantly.

"Make that six of us," Sorako said,"so just let us leave and we'll forget we ever met you."

"My name is Feng," the man said,"and I cannot let you leave." Then Feng raised his right hand and Sorako stiffened.

"What the heck are you doing to me?" Sorako asked in surprise.

"Bloodbending," Jia said,"it's a dark art of waterbending. That's what the ship captain was warning us about. People that can control you're every move."

"Well now that we've all been introduced," Feng said," you can come with me."

"Like Sorako said," Bo said,"there are six of us."

"And you can't control all of us," Aya said with a smile. She sent a bolt of lightning at Feng but he ducked. In doing so he lost his hold on Sorako.

Before Feng could stand back up Sorako ran up to him tackled him. And he fell flat on his back. Aya stood over Feng and was about to knock him out with a punch when she stiffened. A man walked up to Aya, and created a wall of ice. To separate Aya from the others. Then he froze Sorako's boots to the ground. Immobilizing him.

"Thanks, Chang," Feng said.

"No problem," Chang responded," lets go."

"No!" Jia shouted and shattered the ice wall. Horou ran after the bloodbenders.

They were taking Aya prisoner.


	7. Chapter 7 Rescue

Horou led the chase, as everyone ran after Feng and Chao. They ran back into the tunnels, and Sorrako took out some flashlights. He gave one to everyone.

"I can't believe they can make her run with them," Jia said.

"I just hope we don't lose sight of them," Sorako said,"doesn't she have the map on her?"

"Oh no," Bo said.

"We'll be lost in here if we don't catch up," Jia realized.

But then Bo smiled," we're under a mountain."

"So?" Jia said.

"This is an earth-benders dream come true," he continued.

Chang and Feng disappeared around a corner. By the time the team turned the corner they were even farther away.

"No worries," Bo said. And he bent up a wall of rock in front of the blood benders.

"You've got nowhere to run," Hourou said to the men,"let Aya go and we'll be on our way."

"No," Feng said.

"There's nowhere for you to run," Jia said, "so you don't really have a choice."

"The reason these tunnels are so humid,"Feng continued,"is because of an underground river. That runs right through this cliff."

Then he raised his hands and the entire tunnel vibrated, as if an earthquake was happening. Pebbles rained down on everyone and the ground began to split. The Rock wall that Bo had made collapsed.

Water shot up through the cracks in the ground, as Chen bent Aya's blood, making her run down the tunnel with them.

Everyone got soaked as the water sprayed everywhere. Horou and the team ran after them avoiding the larger cracks where water shot out, hard enough to knock them down. Feng saw them giving chase and created a thick wall of ice behind himself. Then he made the river burst through the ground and fill the tunnel.

The force of the water nearly destroyed the ice wall but Feng placed his hands on the ice and strained barely managing to keep it intact.

Jia and the others were swept down the tunnel. Propelled along by the powerful current.

"Let's go," Feng said, once the force of the water eased off. He added a few more layers to the ice wall, and then He and Cheng walked down the tunnel with their prisoner.

Somehow in all the chaos of being swept down the tunnel Jia managed to bend a thick coating of ice on the ground. In effect stropping up the water. The ice plugged up the split ground and eventually the water died down.

Jia coughed as she stood up on the now soaked had lost their flashlights so now it was pitch black. Horou reached into his pants pocket and took out a small flashlight. The small light filled up the tunnel.

"Oh man" Bo said as he staggered up to his feet,"who knew there was a river under these tunnels?"

"You should close up the crack in the floor", Jia said "that ice won't last forever."

"Right," Bo said," hey Horou how many flashlights do you have?"

"It pays to have a spare," Hourou replied.

Da shook himself dry and walked up to Jia. The ground rumbled as Bo bent the earth back together. And Jia melted the ice coating, as he closed up the crack that flooded the tunnels.

"OK," Horou said," we don't know how far away we are from Aya and we don't have the map. Aya has it on her."

"And I'm guessing that Feng will be returning for us with backup," Jia said.

"Well we came from that direction," Sorako said and pointed behind them, "So I guess that's the way out.

"How do you know which way we came from?" Bo asked," I couldn't tell up from down in that madness. And anyway I can feel their footsteps through the ground."

"Oh well then," Soralo said,"Feel away."

Everyone stood still as Bo concentrated. He could feel vibrations through the a spider can sense that a bug on its web. He sensed Feng and Cheng's footsteps as they ran away.

"This way,"Bo said, and took off down the tunnel. Everyone followed him.

A man entered Haman's office and stood before his desk. Haman sat behind it and said,"where are they?"

"Aya and her friends are in the tunnels," the man said,"but we heard some rumbling and water shot out of the tunnel entrance for a few seconds. We think that's what caused the waterfall to die down earlier."

"Find out what's going on in there," Haman said,"we may have some company for Korra."

Feng and Cheng walked through the tunnel with Aya between them. They had handcuffed her so she couldn't fire-bend.

'How will I get out of this?' Aya wondered, 'they can stop me in an instant if I run. I'll have to wait for them to be distracted and surprise them.'

She clenched her fists in frustration.

They finally made it to the exit, and walked out into the forest. It was midday by then and as hot and dry as ever. They trekked into the dense jungle.

"Where are you taking me?" Aya asked.

"To the village chief," Feng responded, "he'll know what to do with you."

Horou led the chase, as everyone ran after Feng and Chao. They ran back into the tunnels, and Sorrako took out some flashlights. He gave one to everyone.

"I can't believe they can make her run with them," Jia said.

"I just hope we don't lose sight of them," Sorako said,"doesn't she have the map on her?"

"Oh no," Bo said.

"We'll be lost in here if we don't catch up," Jia realized.

But then Bo smiled," we're under a mountain."

"So?" Jia said.

"This is an earth-benders dream come true," he continued.

Chang and Feng disappeared around a corner. By the time the team turned the corner they were even farther away.

"No worries," Bo said. And he bent up a wall of rock in front of the blood benders.

"You've got nowhere to run," Hourou said to the men,"let Aya go and we'll be on our way."

"No," Feng said.

"There's nowhere for you to run," Jia said, "so you don't really have a choice."

"The reason these tunnels are so humid,"Feng continued,"is because of an underground river. That runs right through this cliff."

Then he raised his hands and the entire tunnel vibrated, as if an earthquake was happening. Pebbles rained down on everyone and the ground began to split. The Rock wall that Bo had made collapsed.

Water shot up through the cracks in the ground, as Chen bent Aya's blood, making her run down the tunnel with them.

Everyone got soaked as the water sprayed everywhere. Horou and the team ran after them avoiding the larger cracks where water shot out, hard enough to knock them down. Feng saw them giving chase and created a thick wall of ice behind himself. Then he made the river burst through the ground and fill the tunnel.

The force of the water nearly destroyed the ice wall but Feng placed his hands on the ice and strained barely managing to keep it intact.

Jia and the others were swept down the tunnel. Propelled along by the powerful current.

"Let's go," Feng said, once the force of the water eased off. He added a few more layers to the ice wall, and then He and Cheng walked down the tunnel with their prisoner.

Somehow in all the chaos of being swept down the tunnel Jia managed to bend a thick coating of ice on the ground. In effect stropping up the water. The ice plugged up the split ground and eventually the water died down.

Jia coughed as she stood up on the now soaked had lost their flashlights so now it was pitch black. Horou reached into his pants pocket and took out a small flashlight. The small light filled up the tunnel.

"Oh man" Bo said as he staggered up to his feet,"who knew there was a river under these tunnels?"

"You should close up the crack in the floor", Jia said "that ice won't last forever."

"Right," Bo said," hey Horou how many flashlights do you have?"

"It pays to have a spare," Hourou replied.

Da shook himself dry and walked up to Jia. The ground rumbled as Bo bent the earth back together. And Jia melted the ice coating, as he closed up the crack that flooded the tunnels.

"OK," Horou said," we don't know how far away we are from Aya and we don't have the map. Aya has it on her."

"And I'm guessing that Feng will be returning for us with backup," Jia said.

"Well we came from that direction," Sorako said and pointed behind them, "So I guess that's the way out.

"How do you know which way we came from?" Bo asked," I couldn't tell up from down in that madness. And anyway I can feel their footsteps through the ground."

"Oh well then," Soralo said,"Feel away."

Everyone stood still as Bo concentrated. He could feel vibrations through the a spider can sense that a bug on its web. He sensed Feng and Cheng's footsteps as they ran away.

"This way,"Bo said, and took off down the tunnel. Everyone followed him.

A man entered Haman's office and stood before his desk. Haman sat behind it and said,"where are they?"

"Aya and her friends are in the tunnels," the man said,"but we heard some rumbling and water shot out of the tunnel entrance for a few seconds. We think that's what caused the waterfall to die down earlier."

"Find out what's going on in there," Haman said,"we may have some company for Korra."

Feng and Cheng walked through the tunnel with Aya between them. They had handcuffed her so she couldn't fire-bend.

'How will I get out of this?' Aya wondered, 'they can stop me in an instant if I run. I'll have to wait for them to be distracted and surprise them.'

She clenched her fists in frustration.

They finally made it to the exit, and walked out into the forest. It was midday by then and as hot and dry as ever. They trekked into the dense jungle.

"Where are you taking me?" Aya asked.

"To the village chief," Feng responded, "he'll know what to do with you."

"I thought you couldn't let us live," Aya said.

"Well yes but it's still the Chief's decision,"Cheng said.

They entered a clearing in the forest, where the village was located. The homes were made of brown clay, that was coated with waterproof tree sap. The sap gave the houses a strange shine. Like waxed shoes. There was a large campfire in the center of the village and the houses were built up around it. A little distance away were some fields where they grew their crops.

Watchtowers were located around the village. And Aya noticed a lone house a few yards from the village, it had two guards in front of its door. ' I wonder what's in there.' she thought.

"No wall to keep out animals?" Aya said.

"The animals know better than to bother us," Feng said.

All the villagers were dressed in red. And they were surprisingly modern clothes, not the tribal grass skirts that Aya half expected.

She was led to a large house with a curtain of beads as it's front door.

"Chief Geming, we have a prisoner," Feng said before he entered.

"Come in," the chief said.

They led Aya in to talk to the chief of the Blood benders. He was a fit man in his had a full head of gray hair and a square jaw. He had the look of someone used to being obeyed. And was dressed in red pants and a shirt under his black robe. A black crown sat on his head.

"We found this woman stealing our Moonstone," Feng said.

"What?" Aya asked in surprise,"we weren't stealing anything. And anyway we offered to leave peacefully but these men wouldn't let us!"

"I am sorry but they couldn't just let you leave," Geming said,"we can't risk you exposing us to the world. Was she alone?"the question was clearly directed to Feng.

"No," Feng responded, "there were too many. We couldn't capture all of them."

"Well then, send in a team to find her friends. And we'll be having an execution it a few hours."

"As you wish,we also found this," feng held out the map that Aya had. They found it on the way to the village," she had it on her when we captured her. It's how they found the stone."

"Put it with the other items to be destroyed." Geming ordered,"No one else can be allowed to disturb our peace"

Bo lead the team straight to the exit of the tunnels.

"OK," Jia said,"where to now?"

"I've lost them" Bo said.

"What?" Jia exclaimed.

"I think they've gotten too far ahead," he explained.

"No problem," Sorako said,"I'll track them."

"You can do that?," Jia asked him.

"I told you I'm handy in the jungle," Sorako responded.

"Let's go," Horou said.

Sorako led them through the jungle. He looked for signs such as broken branches or footprints.

"These guys aren't trying to hide their trail," He said.

After a while Bo stopped and said," hold on."

"What is it?" Sorako asked him.

"I can sense a crowd," Bo said,"I think the Blood benders are nearby."

Aya was taken to a wooden platform that was quickly built behind the village campfire. The pieces fit together like a puzzle so it had been built in minuets.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the stage. On the stage and the Chief then began speaking.

"It has been years since someone has discovered us," He said," but the law is clear. For our safety, this outsider must be executed.

Many years ago, when the world was still deep in the hundred year war, our ancestors fled to this island. They hid here and built our village. So that we might live in peace. Separate from the outside world.

Then a meteor struck this island. It nearly destroyed our village. But as we rebuilt we found that we were stronger. No Beast could harm us anymore, we found that we could blood bend. But we could only do so if we had a piece of the meteor near us.

So we fashioned Jewelry out of the meteor and hid the remainder of it deep in the now know that the meteor was from the moon.

Even though Avatar Anng brought peace to the world, we must remain a secret. So that if war ever engulfs mankind again we can be safe."

Then chief Geming gestured and a man came on stage. He held a small square red pillow in his hands. And on the pillow was a knife.

'How can I get away from a crowd of Bloodbenders?' Aya wondered desperately.

Before anything happened a young man ran up on stage, and said in a hushed voice, " the friends of this woman have been sighted. And their headed right this way."

"They got here faster than I expected," Geming said, "ready the guards."

The man nodded and left. Then Geming grabbed Aya's wrist. The guards were bending her blood so that she couldn't move. took the knife and raised his hand.

I know Horou wouldn't abandon me. But he better get here soon,' Aya thought.  
>The blade came down quickly, and cut into her wrist.<p>

Aya opened her eyes. 'That's it?' she thought in surprise. She just had a small cut on her wrist.  
>Then the chief bent her blood out,through the cut on her wrist. He was going 2 bleed her to death.<br>Suddenly a thin layer of ice formed over her wrist. Stopping up the bleeding.

'Finally, now it's time for me to make my move,' Aya thought with a sigh of relief.

The ground rumbled and shook. Then thew entire platform shot up into the sky. Bo stood nearby, he'd bent the earth under the platform into a pillar. The platform now sat safely 20 feet in the sky.

Everyone on the platform had been knocked off their feet. And the crowd below was in confusion. People ran and screamed, thinking that the outsiders were attacking.

Bo opened a tunnel directly underneath his feet and dropped down it. The ground quickly closed up over him.  
>On the platform the blood benders were looking for a way down. In The confusion they had forgotten about Aya for just a second. But that was all the time she needed.<p>

Aya's hands were still cuffed but that didn't stop her. Aya opened her mouth and let out a stream of fire. It hit the Blood benders head on and knocked them off the pillar. This was a move that she'd learned from her grandfather, Iroh. People used to call him the Dragon of the west, because of this move. Very few people knew how to execute it. Aya only used it when absolutely necessary. Out of all of the men only Gening reacted quickly enough to block her attack. He bent a wall of ice up in front of him. It blocked the fire from reaching him.

Then he shattered his ice shield and shot dozens of icicles at Aya. She ducked and stepped to the left. Avoiding the ice. But the chief then regained control over her.  
>'<p>

'Bravo, you almost got away,'' he said,'' but we are blood benders. There is no escaping us.'' A fog suddenly covered the crowd below. It was so thick that no one could even see their hand in front of their face.

''How many of you people are there?'' Gening exclaimed. A rock shot up through the platform and slammed into the chief. He was sent flying back off of the entire platform. He fell away and disappeared into the fog below.

Bo was standing on the platform behind Aya. He is the one that shot the rock into Gening.

"Nice timing huh?" Bo asked Aya.

" A little earlier wouldn't have hurt," Aya replied.

"Come on," Bo said, and they both hopped down a tunnel that be had bent up through the platform.

They popped up a good distance from the town. In a small clearing. The rest of the team was waiting for was curled up on the ground sleeping.

"Finally," Sorako said,"I was about to go after you guys myself."

Jia walked up to the group as Aya began speaking. " Good teamwork you two," she said to Jia and Bo, "I'm glad to see that you two are starting to get along, now we need to get the map. And then get out of here."

"You don't have the map?"Jia asked clearly surprised.

"The chief has confiscated it,"Aya said,"but I know where it is.

"Alright everyone I can only take one person at a time," Bo said.

"That's OK I'll get to the town on my own," Jia said.

"Good I'll go back with Bo," Aya said and everyone else head for the eastern edge of the town. That's where the building is that has the scroll. You'll know if we need backup."

Jia bent an ice slide and hopped on it and skated away into the forest.

Bo bent a tunnel into the ground and he and Aya hopped down it. The tunnel closed up over them.

"Let's go," Sorako said. Da woke up and the team trekked back into the forest.


	8. Chapter 8

The fog that Jia had created just an hour ago had long since disappeared. The village now had a new town centerpiece, the pillar that Bo had created. It stood tall in the middle of the village.

The blood benders walked about the village, repairing buildings that were damaged. And windows that had cracked in the chaos.

"There it is," Aya said and pointed to a building that was separate from the town. It stood a good couple hundred feet from the village. And had guards patrolling the perimeter. Four guards in all watched for intruders. Two were on top of the building and two were on the ground.

The building was a simple one story square with barred windows and an armored metal door. A smoke stack rose from it's flat rooftop.

"Alright," Aya said, "Jia, you take out the guards on the roof first."  
>Jia nodded and looked at the building. 'How can I do it quietly?' She wondered.<p>

A tree was next to the building. It was rose a bit above the roof, and was large with vines hanging from it's limbs.

"Perfect," Jia thought with a smile. She was hidden from sight in the forest a few yards from the building. Aya and Bo were crouched next to her. Jia waited for the right chance and ran out to the tree. She quickly climbed up the tree and hid in it's limbs. Then she bent the water in the vines and made the vines come to life.  
>The vines slithered up to the rooftop and went slowly along the ground of the roof. The guards were completely unaware of the vines creeping up behind them.<p>

The vines shot forward and wrapped themselves around the guard's mouths and arms. The men struggled but couldn't move an inch. The vines lifted them from the roof and hid them in the tree's leafy limbs.

"Good," Aya said, "now Bo come with me."Aya and Bo waited until the guards weren't looking and dashed across to the house. They crept to the corner of the building, and saw that the guards were standing right around the corner.

Aya took two cloths and soaked them with Chloroform. Just enough to knock out the guards.  
>Then she and Bo crept up behind the men and covered their faces with the cloths. The guards quickly fell unconscious, and Bo and Aya hid them in the forest.<p>

Bo tossed his cloth up to Jia and she did the same to the guards that were in the tree. After making sure that the men wouldn't suddenly fall out of the tree. She hopped down and entered the building with Aya and Bo. The door was locked of course, but Bo simply shot a small rock through the handle, and the door swung open.  
>They entered the building and looked around. Then Da ran out from the trees and joined them. Fortunately he did not bark.<p>

"Well i guess the guys are here," Bo said when he saw Da.

Aya just shook her head. The building was just one large room. The only light came from a bare light bulb and the sunlight that filtered through the windows.

Six rows of shelves were lined up behind each other, on one side of the room. So that it resembled a small library.

It even had a few tables with lamps on them on the other side of the room. The shelves were filled with books and scrolls. Some were so old, that it looked like looked like they'd fall apart if you touched them.  
>But others looked brand new.<p>

"Wow all of these things are gonna be destroyed?" Jia asked.

"I don't know," Aya said, "but we've gotta move fast. Someone will notice the missing guards."

Everyone except for Bo started searching through the shelves. Bo kept watch to make sure no one sneaked up on them.

"Man these are a lot of books and scrolls," Bo said.

Da was sniffing around the room when his ears perked up and he stood still. Bo noticed and walked over to the window that was above Da. He looked outside and saw a half a dozen Blood benders headed their way.

"We've got company!" Bo shouted to everyone.

"I can't find the scroll!" Jia said.  
>"Never mind,"Aya said, "let's just get out of here,"<br>She looked around for a way out but there was nothing. The blood benders were closing in on all sides.

"Come on," Bo said, and he bent a tunnel up through the floor.

"Good thinking," Aya said.

"But you can only take one person at a time," Jia pointed out.

"Wait!" Aya said.

"What?" Bo asked.  
>"The chief what's he holding?" Aya said.<p>

They all looked out the window. Geming had a scroll in his hand.

"Of course," Aya said," he has the scroll. And he's not hurt at all from his fall. Alright Jia go with Bo I'll handle these guys."

"By yourself?" Bo asked.

"Go!" She responded.  
>"OK OK" Bo said.<p>

"Come on Da," Jia said.

Da barked in objection. "Ok Ok," Aya said,"Da can stay."

"He better make it back," Jia said to Aya.

"Don't worry I have a feeling he can handle himself," Aya said.

Jia and Bo hopped down the tunnel and it closed up behind them.

Aya then opened the front door.

"Aya wasn't it?" the chief said, " I told you no one escapes from us."  
>The chief held out the scroll that was in his hands. "Looking for this? I always have an insur-"<br>"Enough with the monologue," Aya said," Da go!"

Da let loose a massive sound-wave that sent the benders flying back. The chief got up and stared in shock at the dog. Then Aya sent a bolt of electricity at the chief, but he ducked it and ran at Aya. He drew water from the air and sent a rain of icicles at her. She leaped to the left and nearly ran into Sorako.

"What are you doing here?" She shouted at him.

"Giving you backup!" Sorako said and smiled. He bent a shadow over everyone there, except himself and Aya. "What is this?" Geming shouted in frustration.

Aya snatched the scroll from Geming's hand and they went back into the jungle.

Korra was growing impatient. Not that she wanted to be interrogated or executed. But she'd been sitting in her cell for days. And her only visitor after Ami left was the guard that brought her food twice a day.

She thought she'd stay put and find out what she could about Haman. But so far it just looked like he'd forgotten about her.

'That's it,' Korra thought,' I'm getting out of here today.'

The door at the end of the hall opened and the guard came in. He had a tray of food in his hands and was dressed in black. As was apparently the standard for Haman's men. The keys hung from the man's belt, and jingled as he walked.

"Lunchtime Avatar," the man said as he came up to her cell.

Apparently no one had told him not to get that close to her cell. Korra saw her chance and reached through the bars. She grabbed the man's collar, and before he could pull back ,she yanked hard. His head slammed into the bars and he fell down unconscious.

'Finally I can get out of here," Korra thought.

The regular guards never wore their keys on them just in case something like this happened. But this guy was apparently new. And now Korra just had to get out of the building.

She reached through the bars and grabbed the keys. It took her a bit to find the right one since there were a dozen different keys on the key-chain.

Outside the hallway's doors was another guard. He was the one that let people in and out of the prison hallway. It had been and unusually long time since Chen had entered with the Avatar's food. And Li was getting curious as to what the hold up was.

He opened the door and saw Chen lying in front of Korra's cell. "Oh no," he said to himself, "the avatar's escaped." He walked down the hall to Chen and saw much to his relief that Korra was still in her cell. What he didn't see was that Chen's keys were missing.

"What happened?" He asked as he dragged Chen away from Korra's cell. Then he walked up to Korra.

"Thanks," Korra said, "he was blocking the door."She swung open the cell door and it slammed into Li. He fell down and Korra bolted down the hallway.

The man got up and gave chase. Korra opened the door at the end of the hallway and slammed it shut behind herself. She quickly tried the keys she had taken from Chen, but couldn't find the right one.

"Man do I wish I had my powers right now," Korra said to herself.

The door had a small square window in it. When Korra looked up she saw that Li was nearly at the door. She looked around the hallway and saw a chair next to the door. She grabbed it and wedged it under the handle.

Li reached the door and rattled it in frustration. Then he smiled.

"What?" Korra said.

He raised his left hand an showed that he had a two way radio.

"Crap!" Korra said and ran down the hallway.

'I've gotta get out of here before-' she saw five guards coming down the hall right towards her.

She turned and ran back the way she came. When she ran past. The prison hallway she saw that Li was watching, through the door's window. And he had a smirk on his face.

The hallway curved and Korra ended up in a large lunchroom. It was empty and a buffet bar took up one wall. Behind the bar was a pair of double doors that led to the kitchen.

Korra was trying to find the exit when she heard the guards behind her.

'I've gotta hide,' She thought.

She ran to kitchen just as the men entered the Lunch room.

'I hope they are fire benders,' she thought and turned on the gas stoves. She blew out the fires and the room quickly filled up with the flammable gas. She left one burner off for insurance.

Korra saw a window on the back wall of the kitchen. It looked like it was nighttime outside.

It was a pretty large kitchen with half a dozen tables lined up in the middle. And pots and pans hung above the tables. Sinks, refrigerators, and cabinets filled the rest of the room.

The only walkways were two small paths between the tables and the stoves. Before Korra could escape the guards opened the kitchen doors.

She spun around and faced them. "Don't even think about fire bending," she said," smell that? It's propane gas. So just stay there and no one will get hurt."

She started walking backwards to the window. Then on of the guards said,"There are still five of us and one of you."

"Then get some more guys and it'll be a fair fight,' Korra said.

The man ran at her and threw a wild punch. Korra ducked and tripped up the man. He fell down and the others came after her. Because of the narrow path, they could only come at her one by one. And Korra was knocking them down like bowling pins.

Finally Korra grabbed a pan and threw it at the window. The window shattered, and she ran for it. As she passed the stoves she turned the last burner on and leaped trough the window.

The guards gave chase but then noticed that the burner was on. "Run!" one of them said and they all bolted for the door.

They ran through the lunchroom, and headed for the hallway ,when they realized that nothing was happening.

"what?" one of them asked. Then the kitchen exploded. They were all thrown back from the force of the explosion.

Outside Korra found that it wasn't nighttime. But that the window was in the back wall of a tunnel. She was a good distance down the tunnel when the kitchen exploded. Satisfied that she wasn't being followed, she headed to freedom.  
> <p>


End file.
